Jellyfish Australia has appointed Maria Africa as senior director of paid media for Australia and New Zealand, strengthening its leadership team as the business continues to scale its performance and technology-led offering.
Africa joins Jellyfish with more than 16 years of experience across cross-channel strategy, performance marketing and client solutions, spanning both B2C and B2B brands across Australia and Asia.
A senior hire to support growth and capability
Africa was most recently group digital performance director at Mindshare in Sydney and has also held roles at Main Roads Western Australia and Lotterywest.
Her career began at Starcom Mediavest Group in the Philippines, with subsequent agency experience in Singapore.
In her new role, Africa will focus on team leadership, capability development and advising clients on maximising value from the Google Marketing Platform.
Her appointment comes as Jellyfish continues to deepen its relationship with Google, having recently been named Google Marketing Platform Partner of the Year in Australia for the second consecutive year.
The recognition reflects the agency’s work across platforms, including Search Ads 360, Display and Video 360, Campaign Manager and Google Analytics 360.
Navigating change in paid media
Africa said Jellyfish’s specialist and technology-led model was a key factor in her decision to join.
“I joined Jellyfish because its value proposition is rooted in specialist expertise and technology, offering advertisers access to highly skilled practitioners, a global knowledge network, and a proprietary, AI-powered tech stack,” she said.
“The paid media space is changing rapidly and is marked by more automation, signal loss, and increasing pressure on creative effectiveness. Brands need partners who can move with agility and help them navigate that change with confidence.”
Over the past year, Jellyfish has expanded its AI product suite, launching Share of Model, Agent Shopper and the Jellyfish Marketing Platform, completing what it describes as its full GEO suite.
The agency says this positions it as the only agency globally to offer an end-to-end GenAI solution that supports marketing needs, aligned with its “Move. Faster, Smarter, Together” positioning.
Strengthening the ANZ leadership team
Jellyfish managing director for Australia and New Zealand Ashleigh Johnson said Africa’s appointment reflects the agency’s continued investment in paid media.
“Maria has an excellent track record and significant experience in running paid media campaigns for brands in Australia and Asia,” Johnson said.
“Her expertise, experience, and tech-first approach make her the perfect person to lead our team into its next phase after our significant growth in paid media over the last few years.”
Jellyfish has grown its paid media team in Australia to 10 people, contributing to broader local expansion that has taken ANZ headcount to more than 40, spanning martech, media, creative and SEO disciplines.
Top image: Maria Africa